


Things You Said

by wowza



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fruits Basket - Freeform, Furuba - Freeform, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Yuki Sohma - Freeform, kyo sohma - Freeform, kyou sohma - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-11-04 14:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17899871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wowza/pseuds/wowza
Summary: The ups and downs of Yuki and Kyo's relationship. Not all good things are perfect, but they make it work.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Yuki/Kyo is one of my all time favorite pairings, but there isn’t a lot of content for them, which has always bummed me out. With the reboot coming up, I thought it would be the perfect time to create some! :) This fic will be a string of loosely-related one-shots, so while they will all take place within the same universe and relationship, they are not strictly chronological. Hope you guys enjoy!

((based on [this post](http://eversncenewyork.tumblr.com/post/110395333021/send-me-a-ship-and-one-of-these-and-ill-write-a)))

 

Things You Said At 1 AM

 

Kyo rolled over for what felt like the millionth time that night. 

The red, blocky numbers on his bedside clock read “1:00,” their artificial brightness irritating Kyo and disrupting what would otherwise be a dark and peaceful room. 

But Kyo was not at peace. 

The redhead groaned and shifted his position again, pulling the covers up to his neck as he attempted to will himself to sleep, but to no avail. It had been quite a while since he had slept in his own room, after all, and he discovered that the comforting familiarity that had once come with having his own space in a house he had initially had no desire to be in had begun to fade with the outdated distaste for his surroundings. The rarely-used space now felt foreign and the usually-empty bed now felt cold, no matter how many blankets Kyo piled up. 

Yes, despite the initial sentiment that his life could not possibly get worse when he had been forced to move into Shigure’s house, over time Kyo had begun to relax into his new space and find himself in a new way as he connected with Shigure and with Tohru. Even with Yuki. Especially with Yuki. 

Kyo sighed deeply and shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the silver-haired boy who too-frequently occupied his thoughts and was surely the one keeping him up at this hour. Yuki, who had once been the bane of Kyo’s existence, who he felt positive was to blame for the misfortune and pain he had experienced throughout his life, had become the one to ease that pain and help him heal. Yuki, who Kyo had once hated with his entire mind and body, now consumed his being in entirely other ways. Yuki, who Kyo had once seen as insufferable and ungrateful, he now recognized as sensitive, thoughtful, and passionate. 

So why, then, was Kyo in his own bed instead of his boyfriend’s?

Kyo bit his lip and scowled as memories of their fight from earlier on that evening resurfaced. Despite the genuine adoration and deep understanding between the two boys, they still managed to drive each other crazy, sometimes in a good way and other times in a not-so-good way. Even months after the curse had broken, and months after the shy glances and nervous smiles exchanged between the two had evolved into a stable relationship, Yuki and Kyo still bickered to no end, finding it difficult to break away from the snarky comments and relentless teasing that had become second-nature over the many years since they had first known each other. 

Regardless, they still usually managed to make up before bed. Going to bed upset, it seemed, meant not going to bed at all. 

Kyo rolled over again, trying and failing to find a comfortable position without Yuki wrapped up in his arms where Kyo could see that he was safe. Kyo ached to feel Yuki’s breath on his chest and longed to see the content smile that occupied his sleeping face. Kyo could barely remember what it was they had even been arguing about in the first place as each one of his thoughts was continually replaced with one of the many reasons why Kyo was so hopelessly in love with Yuki, despite the fact that the words spilling out of his mouth hours earlier had been unkind and without regard for the happiness of his partner. 

Kyo wondered if Yuki was asleep right now. He figured that he probably was. Kyo wondered if he had even had any trouble falling asleep at all. He wondered if Yuki had felt regret about the things he had said or if he felt troubled by the things Kyo had said. Kyo wondered if Yuki had even cared at all. 

Kyo cared. 

Kyo cared so much that it hurt his heart to think that their relationship could not be perfect the way he had foolishly imagined it would be. Even just a handful of months in, he was already being resigned to spending the night in an empty bed. If this was how things were now, what they be like in a year? Would they even be able to stand the sight of each other?

Would they still be together?

Kyo’s heart ached and he curled over, caving in on himself at the thought of things between the two of them going back to how they had once been. Hot, silent tears began to spill down his flushed cheeks. Old habits die hard, that was for sure, but if not even the powerful feelings that bubbled up in his chest at the thought of Yuki could overcome that cruel fact, then would anything be able to? 

Maybe he really was destined to be like the cat, forever chasing the rat and never being able to catch him. 

Kyo winced at the thought. 

He thought of all the times he had held Yuki in his arms and how wrong it felt that he wasn’t now. Maybe he never would be able to again. To hold on. 

Kyo was forced out of his thoughts by the sudden creaking of his bedroom door and the soft padding of socked feet across the hardwood floor. 

For what felt like the millionth time that night, Kyo rolled over, his eyes widening slightly at the unexpected sight of his boyfriend standing in the doorframe.

“Yuki,” Kyo said softly, if only to affirm the presence to himself as his slowly moved to sit up in the bed. 

Wordlessly, without being able to fully look the redhead in the eye, Yuki slowly made his way over to the bed. In the dull moonlight,  Kyo could see that his boyfriend looked embarrassed. 

And sad. 

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Kyo blinked, taken aback by the question. Of course he wouldn’t mind. He reached out to take Yuki’s pale hand and gently pulled him into the bed. 

Large purple eyes focused on red, and for a moment all they did was stare at each other. Kyo did not know what to say, and was afraid that if he were to speak, he would blurt out what was entirely the wrong thing to say.

“Have you been crying?” Yuki’s voice was barely above a whisper as it reached Kyo in the silence of the room. 

“Do you still love me?” 

There it was. It was unmistakably the entirely wrong thing to say, but Kyo could not help himself. 

“You really need to ask me that?”

“Yes.”

Yuki looked like he had been punched in the gut and Kyo felt bad, but repressed the urge to apologize immediately as he waited for what felt like years. 

“Of course I love you.” Yuki’s voice was shaky and his eyes shined with tears he refused to shed. “I will always love you, even if we aren’t together.”

“But we are,” Kyo interjected faster than he meant to. “Together, that is. Is that still what you want?”

“Yes.” Yuki’s voice cracks, but Kyo is happy enough to hear it.

“Cool.”

Kyo reached out, surpassing the distance between them as he wrapped his arm around Yuki’s waist, pulling him closer.

“Please stop hurting me.”

Kyo froze, surprised by the uncharacteristically feeble sound of his own voice. Yuki closed his eyes, taken aback by how vulnerable his boyfriend sounded. He couldn’t believe this was the same boy who he had once had no qualms about physically overpowering, with little regard for how injured Kyo would end up afterwards. Now, the very idea that he had hurt him bothered him more than anything, despite the fact that just minutes ago, he had been entirely occupied with how much Kyo had hurt  _ him _ . 

“We’ll stop hurting each other.”

Yuki curled up into Kyo’s chest. Maybe things will be better after this. 

“Good, because I can’t sleep without you here.”

At that, Yuki smiles. 

“Me neither… and I don’t want to.”

And with that, Kyo tenderly planted a kiss on Yuki’s forehead and smiled softly, happy to have him in his arms where he could make sure he was safe. 


	2. Things You Said Through Your Teeth

Things You Said Through Your Teeth 

 

Yuki clenched his jaw as he tightened his grip on the counter, his knuckles nearly turning white from the strain. The silver haired boy closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing in an attempt to control his brewing anger.  _ Deep breath in…. And exhale… deep breath in….exhale _

“Are you kidding me? Stop it with that shit. I don’t  _ want _ you to control your anger, I want you to let me have it! Tell me how you fucking feel, Yuki!”

The sound of Kyo’s voice following Yuki into the kitchen made it nearly impossible to suppress the frustrated growl that emerged from the back of the boy’s throat. 

“You are  _ insufferable _ ,” the rat hissed through gritted teeth, spinning around to face his boyfriend with a hair-raising expression of vexation. “You  _ really _ want to know how I feel? I think you’re a petulant child who doesn’t know a damn thing about the real world.”

“You think  _ I’m  _ out of touch with reality? I didn’t spend my entire life being doted on and fawned over like cheap royalty. You seem more than willing to just keep your mouth shut and absorb whatever the fuck is around you, sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain of your own at all. I’m so sick of this passive aggressive shit, I  _ need _ you to tell me what the fuck is going on in your mind, if there’s  _ anything _ in there. You’re driving me crazy!”

“Kyo,” Yuki warned, his body going stiff and his face hardening. 

“I’m your  _ boyfriend _ for crying out loud! We’re different people, you’ve made that obvious enough, but at least I’m trying! I’m trying to understand you because I  _ don’t _ and I’m never going to if you never fucking  _ talk _ to me! If you’re pissed off then let yourself get pissed off!  _ Feel  _ some fucking  _ emotions _ for once!” Kyo’s voice continued to get louder as he spoke, losing himself in the frustration and passion of his words until he was full-out screaming. “If you hold everything in, you’re going to end up turning into a crazy  _ bitch _ like Akito!”

Yuki snapped. 

Within what felt like an instant, Kyo went flying across the room and landed against the wall of the kitchen with a loud  _ thud _ . The redhead winced at the sudden pain in his chest from where he had been struck and the ache in his back from where he had landed. For a moment all he could do was look around with a blank expression, still trying to comprehend what had happened and how he had ended up at the new location before it finally began to sink in. 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

How long had it been? The two argued all the time, yet Kyo struggled to remember the last time Yuki had physically attacked him this way. Months? Had it been a year? Whatever the case, Kyo’s initial response was deep shock, and he sat there silent for what felt like an eternity, glancing down and flexing his shaking hands. 

It wasn’t long before the shock melted into disgust and betrayal, and Kyo half considered lunging to his feet to fight back, but that was mostly out of instinct, and once the cat had gathered his thoughts, he just sighed and shook his head as he slowly made his way to a standing position. 

“Damn rat,” he gritted through his teeth before turning and walking away with a slight limp.

“Don’t you call me that!” Yuki called out in anger, his eyes sparkling with frustrated, unshed tears. “You promised! You promised not to call me that!”

Kyo did not turn around to address the silver-haired man and soon disappeared down the hallway and around the corner. As soon as he was out of sight, Yuki sank to knees and clutched his head, the tears beginning to cascade down his pale cheeks in messy, unpredictable streams. 

He chuckled between tears; it was almost funny, how ironic it was. Kyo was always upset by the fact that Yuki was not an expressive person. If only he could see him now, on the ground and melting into a mess of emotions. 

Even so, Yuki knew that this was not the same. 

The truth was, he didn’t know how to express his feelings to others. He didn’t know how to be confrontational, the way that Kyo was. He didn’t know how to stop caring about what other people thought of him, and the idea of making trouble for other people frightened him, whether or not he agreed with them.

Yuki saw the way the other Sohmas had treated Kyo earlier at the banquet. He had heard the things they said, seen first hand how they would go out of their way to make him feel like an outsider, yet Yuki said nothing. He had not corrected them, he had not argued with them, and he had not voiced an alternate opinion because despite the fact that each jab and glare at his boyfriend had been like a knife through the silver-haired boy’s heart, he still wanted everyone to like him. 

Yet he still could not believe Kyo had taken that to mean Yuki agreed with the rest of their relatives, daring and screaming for Yuki to say to him what the others had whispered amongst themselves. 

Kyo was right to doubt whether or not anything was going on in his mind when all Yuki responded to the unkind words with were blank stares and silence. He had been so conditioned to avoid making trouble for other people that he had kept his mouth shut nearly the entire day, complacent and cold. 

Kyo knew that Yuki had been taught to be this way as a child, and Yuki knew that he tried his hardest to understand where he was coming from. The cat’s words had been unkind but not entirely uncalled for, and Yuki knew that underneath the anger he had just been sad and hurt. 

“I need to tell people how I feel,” he whispered, a promise to himself,  “I need to tell people how I feel.”

Starting with Kyo. 

Yuki kind of owed it to him. Kyo felt every emotion with passion and honesty, and Yuki knew it must be frustrating to have a boyfriend who struggled to express even the most simple displeasures for fear of being a burden. 

Yuki wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to gather himself before leaving in the direction of the redhead’s room. “I need to tell people how I feel.”


	3. Things You Said Too Quietly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I know it took a while to post, but I completely started over with a new idea after finishing and I am so much happier with how this one turned out. The first two chapters were pretty angsty so I thought I would give it a little break with something sweet and different. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think :)

Things You Said Too Quietly 

 

Butterflies begin to gather at the center of Yuki’s chest, accumulating into an amorphous mass of unpredictable vibrations before they are expelled from their meeting point, radiating out into Yuki’s limbs, his abdomen, his cheeks, and the tips of his fingers. 

Yuki sits neatly on the couch, his legs together and his spine pressed lightly against the furniture’s backing, the way it was designed to be used. Kyo, on the contrary, is sprawled out horizontally, his legs jutting out in strange directions that would be comfortable only to him, his head resting on Yuki’s lap, and his chest slowly rising and falling in his sleep. 

Yuki reaches over slowly, careful not to awaken the redhead, and presses the button on the remote to switch off the television, the credits to the movie they had been watching disappearing into a blank screen, creating a barely-there reflection of the two boys in front of it. 

The silver-haired boy hesitantly peeks down at his boyfriend once more, and is confused by the uncontrollable wave of emotion that is overtaking him. The powerful wave crashes and the butterflies once again gather as he is dragged out to sea, surrounded by and drowning in  _ Kyo, Kyo, Kyo.  _ He does not have a word or a reason for what it is he feels in this moment. 

The scene is so completely domestic it should make Yuki sick. 

But it doesn’t.

He feels something else entirely, something he is feeling for the first time, and he is so overwhelmed he wants to kick, scream, grab Kyo by the shoulders and shake him, asking  _ Why? Why? Why?  _ He wants to cry because he doesn’t understand and he wants to run away because he doesn’t know if he ever will. 

But he doesn’t. 

Kyo’s small puffs of air vanish into the late evening and his snores morph into a soft and steady purr. 

_ Like a stupid cat _ , is what Yuki would have said at another point in time, but not this one, and the sound is so familiar and the moment is so warm that the butterflies begin to explode beneath Yuki’s skin and he feels like he might throw up.

But he doesn’t. 

Yuki flushes pink all the way down to his collar bone and reaches down to brush Kyo’s bangs over to the corner of his forehead. The short hairs are matted and damp with the stickiness of summer and Yuki knows that the fond smile that his delicate face assumes is  _ wrong _ and that  _ he should be repulsed _ and he knows that he would be if it were anyone else whose sweat was now smeared across his fingertips. Yuki wipes his hand on his pants and doesn’t even think once about how dirty it is. He’s almost grossed out by the fact that he isn’t grossed out. 

Kyo is objectively gross. 

Kyo talks while he eats and is always too loud. Kyo picks food off of the floor, blows on it once, and pops it into his mouth, winking and offering a rushed explanation of “five second rule!” Kyo trains for long hours and never cleans his room and doesn’t shower as much as he probably should and haphazardly shoves his laundry into his drawer without folding it and he drives Yuki  _ nuts _ . Yuki doesn’t know why he wants to fling himself at Kyo after he gets back from a long day at the dojo. Yuki doesn’t know why he wants to press his nose into Kyo’s neck and breathe in the other boy’s smell when he has yet to clean himself. Yuki doesn’t know why he chides and corrects Kyo on all of his ridiculous behaviors that are objectively  _ gross _ but secretly hopes that he never changes. 

Yuki caresses Kyo’s cheek with a tenderness he did not know he possessed and the redhead's eyelashes flutter, his hands twitching as he lets out a soft groan and begins to come to. 

“I am ridiculously and completely in love with you,” Yuki breathes, the words tumbling out of his thin lips as the butterflies are finally freed from the confines of his mind and body, spilling out into the warm air. 

“Hm?” He hears, Kyo’s hand coming up to rub at his face before a pair of orange eyes blinks open. “What’d you say?” He asks then yawns, stretching before settling back into his former position.

“Oh,” Yuki says, then shudders, “it was nothing.” He looks away.

Kyo hums and reaches his arm out, blindly searching for his boyfriend’s hand without being bothered to open his eyes again. He looks ridiculous. “Okay.”

Yuki laughs and meets the hand with his own, threading their fingers together. 

It’s not as if this is the first time he has told Kyo that he loves him. They tell each other every day: in the morning, before bed, and whenever they can in between, usually coupled with a kiss and a smile. Yuki does not know why it feels so different this time and thinks back to the first time he ever said it.

 

* * *

 

_ Yuki chews the tip of his pencil and glances over at Kyo, who sits on the floor of his room doodling in the margins of his paper instead of doing his homework _ .

_ “Kyo?” _

_ “Yes?” _

_ Yuki huffs, frustrated with himself, then diverts his gaze. _

_ “Nevermind.” _

_ Kyo rolls his eyes in annoyance and goes back to his task of drawing a small cat, his brows furrowed in concentration. The two had been dating for just a month and a half, and neither of them were particularly good at it. Kyo forgets how to breathe when Yuki touches his hand, Yuki is a horrible kisser, and they both still have a terrible habit of covering up their own insecurities with insults. The bickering was perpetual, the romantic gestures were clumsy, and they were absolutely crazy about each other.  _

_ Kyo starts to draw a rat, then stops, lifting his pencil off of the math sheet. Did rats have circular noses or triangular noses? He couldn’t remember. _

_ “Hey, Yu-” _

_ “I have to tell you something!” _

_ Kyo is interrupted by Yuki’s half-shouted announcement, the silver-haired boy suddenly springing up to stand on his bed. Yuki grits his teeth and clenches his fist. Kyo almost mistakes his determination for anger.  _

_ Yuki is shaking now, and Kyo has the horrible feeling that something is very wrong. He wants to say that whatever it is, Yuki can tell him.  _

_ “Yuki, I-” _

_ “I love you!” _

_ Yuki closes his eyes and cringes, cowering back against the wall like he’s expecting Kyo to strike him. He’s vibrating with nerves and every second of silence the passes between the two boys drives a dagger deeper and deeper into his chest.  _

_ Finally, he hears movement and lets one eyes open, then another. Kyo is standing now, the corners of his mouth turned downwards. _

_ “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” the cat finally says, trying to sound resolved and confident but coming across as small and scared. As if Yuki would say it just to hurt him.  _

_ Yuki takes a deep breath. _

_ “I love you,” he says again, jumping down off the bed so he is standing level with Kyo.  _

_ Kyo eyes him warily, still unsure, but takes a step closer.  _

_ “I love you Kyo, I love you. I love you. I mean it. I had to tell you because it’s the truth.” _

_ Yuki is shaking because he has never been this vulnerable before. He is just starting to learn how to say what he feels but he starts to wish he had never learned because he has lost track of how many times he has told Kyo he loves him and he has yet to hear it back. He thinks he’s going to cry. _

_ “You don’t have to say it ba-” _

_ “I love you too.” _

* * *

 

Yuki smiles at the memory. It feels like so long ago and he thinks he understands why this time it feels so different. Back then, it was all shouted feelings and nerves and unsurity. It was so new and fast and complicated. Now, here on the couch, with Kyo emanating warmth and being more at peace than Yuki has maybe ever seen him, Yuki doesn’t worry about how many times he will have to say it before Kyo says it back or  _ if he says it back _ . He knows in the way that Kyo nuzzles against him instead of sitting across the room and the way that Kyo squeezes his hand that the cat does not doubt whether Yuki’s love is a trick.

It sounds ridiculous, and Yuki knows that it is, but sitting here, on the couch in the summer after watching a movie that Kyo fell asleep to, is a million times more intimate than any first confession or rushed admission of love or any of the times he has squirmed underneath Kyo’s hands. 

Sitting here, like this, they almost look like a normal couple and Yuki lets himself believe, just for now, that maybe they are. 

Yuki has loved Kyo for so long, but tonight, this love is different. It’s not hypercharged or fueled by blind passion. It’s dependable and present and true. 

The next time Yuki says it, and he knows there will be a next time, he will not say it too quietly. He will say it loud enough for Kyo to hear and he knows that Kyo will say it back. He knows that Kyo will not doubt whether or not his love is a trick. Yuki will not be scared to say it. 

For now, though, just for tonight in the darkness and heat of the summer evening, he’ll keep it a secret. A whispered promise between him and himself of more love to come. 


End file.
